McLachlan, Sarah

McLACHLAN, Sarah, pop singer (b 28 Jan 1968, Halifax). She was discovered in 1985 by NETTWERK Productions and moved to VANCOUVER to sign with the local record company. Her first 2 albums, Touch (1988) and Solace (1991), were successful in Canada but it was her 1993 album, Fumbling Towards Ecstasy, that propelled her to international stardom, selling more than 4 million copies worldwide. In 1997 she released the even more successful Surfacing, for which she received 4 Juno Awards and 2 Grammys. It was followed in 1999 by Mirrorball, for which she won an American Grammy Award for best female pop vocal performance. She was the originator of the highly successful all-women summer festival Lilith Fair. McLachlan is one of a handful of BC-based musical performers who have established an international following, which has only increased with the release of Afterglow (2003), Bloom Remix (2005) and, most recently, Laws of Illusion (2010). She belongs to both the Order of Canada and the Order of British Columbia. See also SOUND RECORDING INDUSTRY.